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Run-of-river projects have come under harsh criticism in recent years

The Innergex Ashlu Creek run-of-river power project, north of Squamish, was cited for fish kills and strandings in a Vancouver Sun story based on documents released through a freedom-of-information request.

Photograph by: Ian Smith

B.C.’s run-of-river power industry has commissioned an independent foundation to study its effect on salmon and other fish.

The Clean Energy Association of B.C., representing the majority of independent power producers, has hired the Pacific Salmon Foundation to conduct the study and make recommendations for improvements as necessary.

The industry has long billed itself as green energy, but has come under harsh criticism in recent years, including from provincial and federal fisheries bureaucrats through internal emails and documents released through freedom-of-information legislation.

“It’s fair that the public be concerned about run of river, particularly in B.C. where the salmon is iconic,” said Clean Energy’s executive director Paul Kariya, who formerly headed the Pacific Salmon Foundation. “I’ve told our members we should listen and should respond and do something.

“If you’re a publicly traded company and you end up on the cover of The Vancouver Sun — a Larry Pynn story, saying you kill fish — that’s not going to go down well with your shareholders.”

In March 2012, The Vancouver Sun published a story based on more than 3,000 freedom-of-information documents highlighting fish kills and strandings at two run-of-river power plants in the Squamish area: Innergex, on Ashlu Creek, and Capital Power, since bought by Atlantic Power, on the lower Mamquam River.

Run-of-river issues relate to the need to maintain adequate flow rates to ensure sufficient water for fish downstream of power plants, and the need to ensure that ramping rates (typically associated with the shutdown of a power plant for maintenance or an unanticipated failure) allow water levels to fluctuate gradually so young fish won’t be stranded.

While the Clean Energy board of directors — which includes representatives of run-of-river as well as the wind, biomass and natural-gas power sectors — agreed to the study, some producers are not on side and may not participate.

“It’s been controversial,” Kariya said in an interview. “Not everyone is cheering. It’s the nature of real life.”

Run-of-river producers represented on the Clean Energy board include Innergex, Alterra Power and AltaGas.

Innergex spokesman Bas Brusche said Wednesday the company supports the study and “will fully cooperate with the Pacific Salmon Foundation team. Innergex welcomes a robust evaluation conducted by a respected third party, and is looking forward to its recommendations.”

Kariya noted that power producers are here for the long term, with electricity-purchased agreements with BC Hydro for up to 40 years — which is 10 four-year life cycles of a sockeye salmon — and need to know the environmental impact of their operations.

“We’re not as perfect as we think we are,” he said, noting the industry might not be suitable for all rivers. “We think we’re on the side of angels with clean energy but not everyone thinks so.”

Gwen Barlee of the Wilderness Committee, a leading critic of run-of-river projects, said she is concerned that some of the power companies with the worst infractions might not participate. Concerns relate not just to fish but increased road access and power lines and the amount BC Hydro is paying for such private power projects, she noted.

The industry-funded study of itself comes at a time when the federal government has gutted protection for fisheries, rivers and environmental assessments, Barlee said.

“I have very little faith in a study put forward by industry getting to the bottom of the issues,” she said.

Asked why he picked the Pacific Salmon Foundation to head the study, Kariya said he wanted the “most credible salmon organization, science driven but with broad cross-sector representation on the board, to lead an independent review.”

Brian Riddell, the foundation’s president and chief executive officer, said he has contracted ESSA Technologies of Vancouver to do the research for the study, including monitoring data related to flow requirements and mitigation efforts undertaken at power plants.

Will Kariya’s past association with the foundation affect the study’s objectivity?

“They came to me because of my background with salmon and salmonids in B.C., and I know many of the stakeholders,” Riddell said: “We’ll have to demonstrate our independence by the credibility of our report.”

The study will look at salmon and others salmonids such as steelhead, trout and whitefish.

The report is costing “a few hundred thousand” dollars and is due by July this year, said Riddell, who is also naming a 15-member advisory board.

Riddell is a former federal fisheries scientist who was instrumental in creating Canada’s wild salmon policy; he’s also a Canadian commissioner on the international Pacific Salmon Commission.

The foundation is an independent, non-governmental organization dedicated to wild Pacific salmon and their habitat. Founded in 1987, the foundation has an annual budget of $9 million and makes grants to community-based salmon conservation projects in B.C. and Yukon.

Kariya, who joined Clean Energy in 2009, noted there are many views on B.C.’s best energy options, including BC Hydro dams, which have had significant environmental impacts. Run-of-river producers argue they are a cleaner option than burning of fossil fuels.

Kariya previously held several high-profile positions: executive director of the Pacific Salmon Foundation from 2002 to 2008, chief executive officer of Fisheries Renewal B.C. from 1998 to 2001, and executive director of the B.C. Treaty Commission from 1994 to 1998. He served with the federal government from 1979 to 1994, primarily in fisheries but also with Indian and Northern Affairs.

As of August 2012, the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations reported there were 570 applications for water-power projects, 394 applications for wind-power projects and 28 applications for ocean-power projects. Some of those applications have been inactive for several years, are lacking an electricity-purchase agreement with BC Hydro, or are otherwise unlikely to proceed to development.

The Innergex Ashlu Creek run-of-river power project, north of Squamish, was cited for fish kills and strandings in a Vancouver Sun story based on documents released through a freedom-of-information request.

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